Gratitude & Acts of Kindness. 22/2021.
Last year I chose the word Gratitude as my word of the year. It challenged me at times to feel or be grateful but overall, I managed to not only feel it more than I might have but I also shared, as I said I would 366 posts about Gratitude as part of my Instagram account.
The instagram account for the blog is @denysewhelan_blogs and it feeds the series of photos which appear on the blog’s side bar. Ask for a follow if you are not already following me. Thank you!
In 2016 I chose Kindness as my word of the year and whilst I did not even keep that post, this one was at a later stage in my life, in so many ways I failed at keeping the promise to myself. It was to include myself in being kind…to me! Soon, I will write more in the series Telling My Story about 2016 and it really was an even tougher year for me because…. I can be so incredibly tough on me!
What I Can Report About Changing My Thinking.
- I am tough on myself
- I am a judgy judgy person
- I am, however, getting much better at becoming AWARE of the first two points because I use this:
“what am I grateful for today?”
I need to add, that when my wise, oh so wise husband told me he did this regularly upon waking and recommended it…I said “why?” or similar words. Now, of course from both the longevity of giving this a proper go, he is right.
Hey, husband:
You
Are
RIGHT!
and he also recommends both being “in the moment” because ….there is no other. No, he does not have a book deal but he is very handy both as a listener and helper AND a cabinet maker.
- With a Granddaughter, culling weeds & chatting.
- Kitchen work at Glenwood started. He loves all aspects of cabinet making.
- Giving the instructions to grandkids about the ‘last Easter Egg hunt
Learning from his example but also doing my own research and practice via daily meditation has given me a huge and wider appreciation for all that is in my life and has been.
A Daily Grateful List…I am making this up as I write…could go like this:
I am grateful
- to be well
- to be married to my husband
- to live in a comfortable house
- to have a flexible daily routine now I am retired
- to have had a very stimulating and interesting career in education
- to have enough funds to feed us well, dress us in clothes that we like and fit and to pay our bills
- to know that I can see a doctor of my choice if needed, get medicines at a PBS rate and see my dentist for reduced rate check ups
- to have reliable car to take me out each day
- to be interested in other people
- to have the commonsense to know when to take a break and enjoy some silence
- that there is someone somewhere I know who can make me a very decent and consistent cup of coffee
- that my family remains well
- that my family is connecting with each other after quite an absence
- to know that my elderly father is in great care where he is
- that I blog
- to have people respond to my blog posts and join in the conversations
But I do not make up a daily list anymore nor do I write 3 things I am grateful for.
Why?
It seems that I am able to integrate the feelings and thoughts about gratitude into my daily life.
This is very helpful to me when things do not always go my way and also if I become worried or fearful about something I can stop myself from going down rabbit holes and ask what is really going on? I can also then look for what is true and what I am grateful for.
It works.
It really does.
Acts of Kindness.
In conjunction with gratitude for my life as it is now, I tend to look for opportunities for an act of kindness. I do not have the financial resources for these but I do have the time and notice when kindness is shown to me and do my best to return the favour.
Sharing my baked goods.
- This was so good for me to do, and the recipients loved them in the COVID year. The recipients were the staff, including the G.P.s at our local medical practice. In fact they got quite a few of my boxes of little cakes and packets of home made biscuits. I felt that I wanted to show how THEIR kindness to us mattered so much. It was awful in those early months of COVID when so many government changes were made to regulations and their office staff took the brunt of that. I wanted to give a little bit of appreciation regularly and they loved it.
- I also did this as appreciation to my surgeons. For my Head and Neck Professor Jonathan Clark and Team it’s now a given that I turn up with chocolate flavoured brownie slice and some little cakes. I love doing this for them. For my Colo Rectal Surgeon and his team, they were blown away with this act because I guess, not many people share home baked stuff.
- I also took some down to the local Real Estate Rentals Team because they have been especially kind to us with ensuring we got a couple of great places to rent and also they cared about me when I had cancer. Their working conditions changed due to COVID too so they were really appreciative of a gift like this.
Sending friends a card or an unexpected gift.
I admit this happens less due to financial constraints but I try to think of friends who might be needing a cheer up or “I’m thinking of you” too.
In one case, I have sent a Big Hug Box to a friend with cancer. I know it was appreciated very much.
In fact, it’s Random Acts of Kindness Week as I write.
I know my friend and founder, Lisa Greissl, is hoping for donations IN KIND…aka money, towards the RandomHUGSofKindness boxes donated to cancer centres. These are not purchased individually but are donated as a result of corporate and business donations drives and more. See here for much more about that. Lisa was also a Woman of Courage here.
From my time as a volunteer contributor in 2018 and 2019. I made book marks from my art, and sent them to Lisa where one day I too became part of a packing team for the early versions of RHoK boxes. For more updated information please use the links I have provided. Lisa’s story is unique and I hope you get a chance to read more about her and the ‘why’ of founding the Big Hug Box.
- I often sent bookmarks to friends
- Then I made 100s more….
- Packing Day…
- With Lisa Greissl, founder.
- An original Big Hug Box.
- An original RHoK box
Have you found being grateful helps you?
What is your way of being kind to others?
Do you remember to be kind to you too?
Denyse.
Linking up with Leanne here who is the epitome of kindness! Lovin’ Life Linky, every Thursday.
And across the oceans, with Natalie here for Weekend Coffee Share.
I Want. 33/51 #LifeThisWeek. 66/2020.
I Want. 33/51 #LifeThisWeek. 66/2020.
Last week I wrote this post: Why Did I Start A Blog?
Today I conclude the ‘Why I Blog” series with ‘I Want’ because that is essentially the ‘why’ of blogging for me.
I want:
It’s been a very big learning curve to be a blogger.
I say that because, for me, it was quite foreign to my world of work in education. Yet, as determined person who does not eschew hard work, I did my best to blog for what I had found was my way:
Conversational
Informational – based on experience
Photo-centred
Stories shared
Difficult Topics Which May Be Helpful
Creativity and Art
Health & Mindfulness
After a huge move (literally) in our lives, from Sydney to the Central Coast at the beginning of 2015 I set myself a goal. To keep me focussed on “doing this one thing EVERY day”…. I wrote a blog post Every.Single.Day. of 2015. No-one read the posts bar me, until, I re-visited the best way to connect more broadly and that was:
L I N K U P S.
Hosted by fellow bloggers.
Yay for that. I linked up posts for some time on the Annoyed Thyroid’s link up each weekend , Kylie Purtell’s on a Tuesday and Kirsty Russell on a Monday. Great news! I was meeting up with old friends and new. Right into 2016 and I continued…slightly decreasing my posts and relieved to do so.
I found I needed a good refresher of how this blog looked and made contact with an old Sydney friend, Tanya, who enriched the look and settings of the blog already set by my techie guy and that meant 2016 was even better. I made a commitment to blog almost every day under these topics:
I was having a good time, connecting and meeting new bloggers. Lots had just started blogging, others had left and there was talk of a linky being retired and I asked if I could, perhaps, with permission take over the Mondays with Life This Week. I got a lovely approval from my friend and in September this LINK UP kicked off….and is now #202!
I was also delighted to know there were link ups happening here (co-hosted) on Wednesdays (sadly for me, this one is finishing up soon) and here on Thursdays. Thank you for your link ups! They are great places of connection.
I Want: to write my memoir.
I had been postponing the idea of writing a memoir of my life until a friend and blogger encouraged me to try writing the chapters in blog-type posts. I did this. Here is the first one. I was not to know it would be a while before the next one!!
I Want: to share awareness of head and neck cancer.
Those who have been here since then and before will know that things changed very fast for my life and priorities when I got a head and neck cancer diagnosis in May 2017. I did think long and hard before pressing publish on this but the love and support which came back to me proved why I love to blog and love my community. The post is here.
I Want: to promote and encourage education- self and others always.
I also told the story of how I like to learn…this was because as a life-long educator I was placed in the role of student at an adult crochet class and because of how poorly my needs were understood I never went back!
I Want: to feel well within myself and portray that confidently.
As an anti-dote to cancer treatments and letting myself be positively impact each day, I began a daily routine some 4 months into my cancer and started to ‘dress with purpose’. This became a photo on instagram each day…and then over time one big boost to my self-confidence when I had no upper teeth and was still in cancer-treatment mode. Here’s what this was about.
I Want: to have women share their stories of courage.
From May 2019 I introduced a series to the blog for women I invited (or who self-invited) to share their stories: answering 5 questions. This series, Women of Courage continues….I am so pleased this has been a success. Many women have told me what it meant to share.
I Want: to show my appreciation to you, my readers, bloggers and friends. Some even joined me for my 70th birthday morning tea late in 2019. Many of you I may never met but already feel you are good friends. This blogging business is a great way for me, a relatively isolated retiree, to connect.
I Want: to continue blogging. Writing a post up to 2 times a week is good for my health and for my connections. Over time, I expect with fewer Women of Courage stories, my Wednesday posts will be a way to make some changes of direction if that’s what I choose.
This Is Why I Blog!
Thank you all. You have made a difference in my life.
Denyse.
Link Up #202
Life This Week. Link Up #202
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